Dr. Veronika Halas - MATE Research
Overview
Dr. Veronika Halas PhD is an associate professor at the Institute of Physiology and Nutrition, Department of Farm Animal Nutrition. She serves as the head of Department of Farm Animal Nutrition.
Her research focuses on nutrition of monogastric farm animals, particularly to assess nutritional value of pig and poultry feeds, determination of energy and protein value of feedstuffs. She has conducted number of research on digestibility of nutrients, especially amino acids at different intestinal sections, in response to dietary treatments in nursery piglets, growing and fattening pigs and poultry. Her expertise lies also in mathematical modeling of nutrient utilization and development of precision feeding systems. She has recently worked on assessing early feeding methods, particularly in ovo nutrition in poultry. Her team's new research area focuses on stress-related physiological changes in swine that impact nutrient use mechanisms.
She authored and co-authored more than 60 research articles in high-impact scientific journals and 16 book chapters. She has over 650 independent citations.
Ass. Prof. Halas has contributed in numbers of national research programs and collaborated with different research groups across Europe. She participated in a H2020 program between 2015-2020 as the leader of work package dealing with mathematical modeling. Within the framework of the Feed-a-Gene program (N°: 633531), the Kaposvár research group has developed a model that is suitable for estimating the value of nutrients taken in with feed in the case of monogastric animals, pigs, broiler chickens and laying hens. Her team is currently participating in a Horizon 2020 program (PIGWEB, No 101004770), the aim of which is to evaluate the applicability of non-invasive techniques (e.g. NIRS, electromyography) in pig research, as well as development of a proxy tool box in order to better understand the differences occurring in the growth efficiency of pigs.
She is a section Editor of Animal: The International Journal of Animal Biosciences.
Research keywords:
Publications
Dukhta, Galyna, and Veronika Halas. 2023. “Dynamic, Mechanistic Modeling Approach as a Tool to Mitigate N Excretion in Broilers.” AGRICULTURE-BASEL 13 (4). doi:10.3390/agriculture13040808
Zeebone, Y. Y., M. Kovács, B. Bóta, V. Zdeněk, T. Taubner, and V. Halas. 2023. “Dietary Fumonisin May Compromise the Nutritive Value of Feed and Distort Copper and Zinc Digestibility and Retention in Weaned Piglets.” JOURNAL OF ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY AND ANIMAL NUTRITION 107 (2): 504–517. doi:10.1111/jpn.13724
Ács, Virág, Szilvia Áprily, József Nagy, László Kacsala, János Tossenberger, Nóra Katalin Szeli, and Veronika Halas. 2022. “Multiple Effects of Egg Weight, in Ovo Carbohydrates, and Sex of Birds on Posthatch Performance in Broilers.” VETERINARY SCIENCES 9 (9). doi:10.3390/vetsci9090491
Banhazi, T M, L Babinszky, V Halas, and M Tscharke. 2012. “Precision Livestock Farming: Precision Feeding Technologies and Sustainable Livestock Production.” INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING 5 (4): 54–61. doi:10.3965/j.ijabe.20120504.006.
Halas, V, and I Nochta. 2012. “Mannan Oligosaccharides in Nursery Pig Nutrition and Their Potential Mode of Action.” ANIMALS 2 (2): 261–274. doi:10.3390/ani2020261
Projects
Feed-a-Gene (2015-2020)
Feed-a-Gene aims to better adapt different components of monogastric livestock production systems (i.e., pigs, poultry and rabbits) to improve the overall efficiency and to reduce the environmental impact. This involves the development of new and alternative feed resources and feed technologies, the identification and selection of robust animals that are better adapted to fluctuating conditions, and the development of feeding techniques that allow optimizing the potential of the feed and the animal. https://www.feed-a-gene.eu/
PIGWEB (2021-2026)
The aim of the project is to strengthen the pig research community by providing and facilitating access to research infrastructures, reinforcing a culture of cooperation between the research community and industrial and societal stakeholders, and improving and integrating the services provided by the research infrastructures. https://www.pigweb.eu/
GINOP-2.2.1-18-2020-00031 (2020-2023)
The tender development has greatly contributed to the practice of precision feed production. The use of rapid and real-time inspection technology (in-line NIR) in the feed production process promotes the creation of feed mixtures based on precision principles, serving the actual nutritional needs of animals and reducing the environmental impact of animal production. Furthermore, the program aimed to develop feeding strategies for broiler chickens and ducks that contribute to more efficient meat production, reduce the use of drugs in poultry production, and thereby meet consumer demands. https://palyazatok.uni-mate.hu/web/mate-p%C3%A1ly%C3%A1zatok/GINOP-2.2.1-18-2020-00031
